Traditional methods of starting a fire in an outdoor environment can be time-consuming and unreliable. Typically, one starts a fire by placing dry kindling wood and paper below a stack of logs or charcoal. The paper is ignited and, if all goes well, the stack of logs eventually ignites. However, the success of traditional methods depends on a number of factors, including weather conditions, the amount and condition of combustible materials used, and the experience of the user. Consequently, alternative methods of starting fires have been proposed which are relatively unaffected by weather conditions, do not require the use of paper or kindling wood, and require little or no skill to use.
Alternative fire starting methods generally involve the use of either liquid-fuel or solid-fuel fire starters. Liquid-fuel fire starters have the disadvantage of being highly flammable and are subject to flashbacks, making them more dangerous to store and use than solid fuels. Solid-fuel fire starters are commonly blocks of paraffin wax mixed with a cellulose material such as sawdust or woodchips. The blocks are placed on a support located below a stack of wood, charcoal, etc., and are ignited using a manually-held flame source such as a match or lighter thereby requiring the user to have at least his hand in proximity to the fire area. Solid-fuel fire starters can also be wrapped in a flammable bag that the user lights to, in turn, light the solid fuel. However, all solid-fuel fire starters are subject to a user's ability to hold a match or lighter up to the fire starter long enough to allow the flammable bag and/or the solid fuel to combust. This requirement can present significant challenges when in a windy outdoor environment.